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Frank, I thought about you today when I was playing a Hammond C-2 ( from the '30s) at an quaint funeral home chapel. It had the drawbar for the vibrato chorus. You got to give Hammond credit. "It takes a licking and keeps on ticking"!! The best thing about the organ is the separate Deagan chimes connected to it (with the little keyboard connected to the righthand side of the console). Believe it or not, they were the most musical thing about the organ. Ah, I guess I am spoiled by a pipe organ!

Frank, Yes, you are right. There is a pecussiveness about the Hammond that is like no other, even a mighty Wurlitzer! My first organ lessons were on a M3 spinet. In college, I would practice on an RT3. When I married, I inherited a Hammond A-100. I sold it (not my wife, but the organ), and bought my Mason-Hamlin. Once you learn how to use the drawbars, it can be very versatile. It is an excellent lesson in harmonics! I still like playing Ethel Smith's version of "Tico Tico" on a Hammond. It will get you movin'!!

Still cheaper and better to find an A100 and 147. That plays *exactly* like a true organic B3 and costs less than either an original or a new digital version..... Plus you get a built-in reverb and if you really want them, static Jensens with a nice valve amp.

Still cheaper and better to find an A100 and 147. That plays *exactly* like a true organic B3 and costs less than either an original or a new digital version..... Plus you get a built-in reverb and if you really want them, static Jensens with a nice valve amp.

Colin,

Thats true. The only problem is that it is getting harder and harder to find the "analog" B3, C3, OR A100 in performance (or reconditionable) condition.

We carry the new B3 (and recondition older models) here in Philadelphia. It is simply getting harder to find the reconditionable units.

good video Here Its 1 hour long and the b3 cuts in about 25 mins. Worth a watch as the Leon Kuyper is one great player and he really works the hammond.

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Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, leggy blonde in one hand, whisky in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming WOO HOO what a ride!

Has anyone heard the recording "Paisannos(sp) on the new B-3"? It's a promo released by Hammond Suzuki featuring a double trio (2 drummers,2 guitarists, and Tony Monaco and Joey D) tearing it up. Very hot. I found it on Tony Monaco's website. www.b3monaco.com enjoy!

I've been in a 30 year love affair with Hammond Organs. I've owned the following organs. C3,M3,BV,RT-2,A102,A100 Suzuki XB-2,XB-5, I currently use a Roland VK-7 for my portable rig. No, it's not the same, but it fits in my car and I can carry it by myself. BTW Colin, I agree,"Celene Dion" Ha Ha.

I spent about 3 decades servicing organs, including the Hammond A, B, C, etc instruments. Since the original Hammond company went out of business and Hammond Suzuki took over the designs, they have had several generation of all electronic organs that tried to duplicate the B3 sound. The last one I played (about 1997) was a VERY good simulation. It even had a single tube in it that could be varied in its distortion to simulate the sound of the tube preamp. Leslies are still being made, they still use the same basic principle of operation, and a couple of the models are still very similar to the original.

The XB3 sold retail (if I remember correctly) for about 17,000 - tricked out with a single Leslie cabinet. A reconditioned REAL B3 at that point in time was typically selling in southeast Virginia for $25,000. They were in considerable demand by the larger black churches. I installed one of these in a large church in NewpoRt News, VA - they kept the old B3 as well - had them side by side. After a couple of months, I talked with the organist, and he was playing the new one mostly.

Although the fellow who bought all the parts when Hammond closed tried to have various items custom manufactured (such as power transformers for the B3 preamp), a lot of the parts needed for a recondition are no longer available, unless one sets up their own machine shop to make them.

I personally enjoy both the sound of a pipe organ, a Rodgers combination pipe/electronic organ, and the Hammond sound. I play in our church praise band, and currently use a Kurzweil K2661 synthesizer that does a pretty good job of emulating one manual of the Hammond. My best emulation is running a MIDI controller keyboard into a computer running a program called B4 by a German company named Native Instruments. The latest version the "B4-II" will really make you believe you are hearing a Hammond B3.

Still cheaper and better to find an A100 and 147. That plays *exactly* like a true organic B3 and costs less than either an original or a new digital version..... Plus you get a built-in reverb and if you really want them, static Jensens with a nice valve amp.

Colin,

Thats true. The only problem is that it is getting harder and harder to find the "analog" B3, C3, OR A100 in performance (or reconditionable) condition.

We carry the new B3 (and recondition older models) here in Philadelphia. It is simply getting harder to find the reconditionable units. [/b]

They get harder to find every year. I was fortunate to find a C3 about twenty years ago that came out of a church, a couple of years ago I came across a C2 to keep for parts (it would play with minor repairs), and just this week I came across another one that I'm trying to get, I may end up with that one as my one to use. I've been extremely lucky, but you don't see near as many as you used to.Clyde

Originally posted by MoodyBluesKeys:My best emulation is running a MIDI controller keyboard into a computer running a program called B4 by a German company named Native Instruments. The latest version the "B4-II" will really make you believe you are hearing a Hammond B3.[/b]

I'm using B4 II with the doepfer D3 system and it works really well. Live control over the drawbars and switches, plus I've got pedals which control swell and leslie start / stop and speed. It's a modular system, but I bought mine second hand with a wooden stand and carry case for under £500. It's fun to play with as an alternative to the piano.